Process of cleaning and refining coffee-beans.



J. THUM. PBOGESB 0P CLEARING AND BBFINING HOPPER BEANS.

APPLIOATIOI FILED SEPT. 26, 1907.

Patentad Jan. 31,1911.

a the. tank a, by rollers 2'.

sTATEs 'UNITED ,PROGESS OF CLEANING AND REFINIING COFFEE-BEANS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J 31 1, 31, 1911,

Application filed September 26, 1907. Serial No. 394,681.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it knownthat- I, JULIUS Tnoar, merchant, a subject of the King of Saxony, and resident of Dresden, Silbermannstrasse 22, Kingdom of Saxony. German Empire, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Processesof Cleaning and Refining Coffee- Ileans, of which the following is a specification.

The prsent'inrention relates to a process for cleaning and refining or ameliorating rawcofi'eebeans and consists in particular in subjecting the coffee-beans, while washing them, to a. thorough brushing or scrubbing process, bywhich every bit of dirt, even its smallest particles adhering to the beans, will be renamed also from the cut of same, and the pores of them are opened in such a degree that all the caffein contained underneath the surface of'the beans and particularly in. the cut of the same will be dissolved and extracted.

A suitable apparatus for carrying the process into efl'ectis shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure .l is a vertical central section through the apparatus and Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same.

A tank is represented by a, and in this tank a tray 7) is located having a perforated bottom 0 on which the cofi'ee beans are al lowed to rest. The tray I) is carried by a toothed ring 71 supported on the edge of The rinp ii is provided with slots s, through which lugs k on the tray are allowed to pass to drop the -tray so that its perforated bottom will be a sufiicient distance below the surface of the water in the tank to pernnt the water to just cover the layer of beans spread on the perforated bottom 0. The tray is held in its.

raised position by the lugs 7-: resting on the ring h and in its lowered posit] on by the lugs r resting on the ring h.

In carrying outthe process according to the present invention, the substances to be cleaned or refined, for instance the coffee beans are heaped on one sideof a tank provided with a porous bottom and placedafter'ward in a basin which is filled with warm water; The ten'iperature of the water to which also soda may be added, will yary according to the quality of the coffee and may be raised up to 69 C. The tank containing the coffee beans is inserted into a washing-water only to such anextent that ATENT OFFICE,

JUL-Ins THUM, or nnnsmin, GERMANY.

the latter justcovers the sieye-like bottom about the height of a coffee bean, anyway not more than a quarter of an'inch. The coffee-beans to be cleaned and forminga heap on one sideof the sieve-like bottom, will hereinafter be scrubbed and thus cleaned, brushing thcmby means of a sharp brush down from the heap into the shallow water which'covers the sieye-like bottom and up again to another heap on the other side of the tank,.thus bringing the cofieebeans just into contact with the water without allowing them to swim in it. 1

It will be seen by the foregoing statementis contained in the lower basin tocabsorb all.

the dirt, adhering to the coffee-beans, as well as the cafiein extracted, and to bring perpetually fresh water in the sieve-like tank, but only in such a. quantity as isnecesming will take place, a sufiicient brushing operation will be impossible, as they are not caught hold by thebrush. "By this scrubbing or brushing process every bit of dirt will be removed, and thus a rfectly clean product will be obtained, wiereas alarge quantity of 'catfein up to more than 30% of the catfein will be extracted from the coffee, thus considerably refining or ameliorating the coffee.

The cleaned and refinedameliorated coffee which as regards the cleanliness and fineness of taste, excels eatly any unbrushcd product and is also ar healthier in consequence of the extraction of caflein, will be removed while still contained in the sievelike tank and placed into a. second basin in which the coffee already scrubbed, will repeatedly be washed out by means of :1 current of fresh water, after which process the beans will be dried and roasted.

hat I claim 1. The process of cleaning and refining raw coffee beans consisting in spreading the cofiee beans on a suitable support, bringing them into contactwith just sufiicient water 'ingt shifting them during the brushing operation from aheap at one part of the perforated support into a. thin layer in contact with the brush thereby and extracting :1' eat part of their caffein.

In testimony, tiat I claimthe foregoing as my invention, I have signed my name in ggesence of two witnesses, this 16th day of ptember 1907.

} JULIUS THUM.

\Vitnesses: I

PnonAnnAs, Cmmn SIMON.

purifying them' 

